Penrith City Council - Local Suburb Names

"Agnes Bank" was the name Andrew Thompson (1773?-1810) gave to his 278 acres of land on the banks of the Nepean River near the Yarramundi Lagoon. The land was granted to Thompson by Governor King in 1804. Thompson named it in honour of his mother, Agnes Hilson, and rented it out to suitable tenants.

Andrew Thompson arrived in New South Wales as a convict in 1792 and, after his pardon in 1797, grew famous as a trader, ship owner, brewer and pastoralist and was described by Governor Macquarie as the "Father of Windsor".

Thompson died in 1810 and a house was subsequently built on the property which became known as "Osborne", which stands today. The property became famous in its early days as a peach orchard and latterly as one of the State's finest blood stock studs.

Badgerys Creek

This location derives from James Badgery (1769-1827), a free settler who, in June 1803, was granted 100 acres on the Nepean River near Yarramundi. In August 1812 Badgery obtained a further grant of 640 acres south of the confluence of (what is now) South and Badgery's Creeks. Badgery called this grant "Exeter Farm", a name that reflected the fact that he came from an old Exeter family in England.

James Badgery died on December 1st 1827, aged 58 years and was buried in St. Luke's cemetery, Liverpool, N.S.W.

Berkshire Park

Named after a grant of 320 acres made to Richard Rouse (1774-1852) in 1838. By this date, Rouse had many other land holdings in N.S.W., including grants at North Richmond, Bathurst, Gulgong, Warren and Wellington. In 1828 it was estimated that Rouse owned 10,000 acres, ten years before he acquired "Berkshire Park".

Richard Rouse had arrived in Australia in 1801, aged 26 with his wife and two small children. He was born in Oxfordshire, England, adjacent to Berkshire after which Rouse probably named his tract of land.

Cambridge Park

A land grant of 1,500 acres was given to Phillip Parker King (1791-1856), son of Governor King, in the area in 1831 which was named St Stephens. The Cambridge Park area was subdivided in the early 1880's and advertised as Cambridge Park. The Nepean Times on 6 December 1884 advertised land for sale "within 5 minutes walk of the Four Cross Roads Platform near Penrith". It was a private sale under Torrens Title, with one pound required as deposit and a repayment of 10 shillings a month. The land was described as ideal for vineyards and orchards.

Castlereagh

Named by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810 after Lord Castlereagh (1769-1822), the Irish peer responsible for the Act of Union in 1803 between Ireland and England.

The Present settlement lies approximately 5 kilometres from the site that was originally chosen by Macquarie in 1810, when he founded five towns - the other four being Windsor, Richmond, Wilberforce and Pitt Town - in order to provide accommodation and storage space above flood level for settlers on the Nepean and Hawkesbury Rivers.

In November 1810, Governor Lachlan Macquarie (recently arrived in the Colony) went on a tour of the Hawkesbury-Nepean region. On December 6th, Macquarie recorded in his journal: "The township for the Evan or Nepean District I have named Castlereagh in honour of Lord Viscount Castlereagh." In 1811 the surveyor James Meehan marked out the streets and a town square, in which a board bearing the name "Castlereagh" was erected.

Castlereagh did not develop, however, mainly due to the fact that the building of the Great Western Road from Parramatta to Emu Ford in 1815 restructured the road system. With the construction of the Great Western Road, Penrith was to become the focal point of the district. Thus, although Castlereagh had been a planned town, the geographical position of Penrith in relation to the crossing of the Blue Mountains secured this change of roles.

Colyton

Colyton was named after Colyton House in Devon England which had been the family home of the wife of William Cox Junior, son of the famous builder of the road across the Blue Mountains, also named William.

The property of 800 acres had been granted to Cox on 17 August 1819 by Governor Macquarie. It was located on the southern side of the Western Highway opposite the present Colyton Primary School. It was only used for grazing and wheat growing.

On 9 April 1842, a notice appeared in the Sydney Herald advertising the auction sale of William Cox's estate to form the 'Village of Colyton' with surrounding farmlets. The land was described as partly forest and partly alluvial with grass on it being 'abundant and nutritious'. The timber on the land was described as being fit for 'building and farming purposes' and the water 'abundant and never failing' from nearby Rope's Creek. Colyton is now a suburb within the larger regional district of St Marys.

Cranebrook

Named after a farm owned by James McCarthy. The name is thought to have derived from the abundance of lagoons and cranes in the area. McCarthy is believed to have been one of the first farmers in the district, coming to the Cranebrook area perhaps as early as the 1790's to farm 30 acres.

In August 1804, Governor King granted McCarthy 100 acres. He was a successful farmer, growing wheat and corn, and had extensive vineyards and ran cattle and horses.

Cranebrook today is one of the burgeoning areas of the City of Penrith, with new residential areas opening up.

Dunheved

Named after a 13th century castle in Launceston, Cornwall, England, the town where Governor King was born in 1758. Dunheved (meaning "hill-head") is situated in an area of 660 acres originally granted to "P. King", in 1806. This was Governor King's son, Phillip Parker King. King's three daughters were also granted land in the area. These grants covered an area totalling 3,780 acres. A year later Governor King's wife, Anna Josepha King was granted 790 acres in the vicinity by the incoming Governor, William Bligh. Governor and Mrs. King left Sydney in early 1807 and returned to England where Governor King died in 1808. Mrs King did not return to Australia until 1832. In the meantime, "Dunheved" had been managed by Rowland Hassell, with W. Hayes as overseer. The King family sold their estate in 1904.

"Dunheved" homestead was demolished when the St. Marys Munitions area expanded after the Second World War. The area is now mainly an industrial estate with a railway station.
Dunheved is now a neighbourhood within the suburb of St. Marys.

Edinglassie

"Edinglassie" was the first private house erected at Emu Plains on a grant of about 50 acres selected by the Colony's first Chief Justice, Sir Francis Forbes (1784-1841). It is believed that there must have been some sort of dwelling on this grant as early as 1827, as Captain William John Dumaresq described it in his journal as "the picturesque and romantic retreat of Edinglassie".
Edinglassie was named after one of the Forbes' estates in Scotland and according to Macdonald's Place Names of West Aberdeenshire p. 179, was derived from 'Eudan-Glassaich', hill face of the pasture or ley land. The parcel of land at Emu Plains was situated at the southern end of what is now River Road, Emu Plains, and was thus over the river from Sir John Jamison's "Regentville".
The name "Edinglassie" is perpetuated in the Retirement Village situated on the Great Western Highway near Troy Street, Emu Plains.

Emu Plains

Emu Plains is located on the west side of the Nepean River extending to the foot of the Blue Mountains. Part of this name (i.e. "Emu") is thought to have originated with the sighting of emus there when the country was first explored by Europeans in the late 1780's. The locality was first known as "Emu Island" as early as 1808 - the name originating with Captain Watkin Tench (1758?-1833), who first explored the region. In 1814 Governor Macquarie referred to "Emu Plains (hitherto erroneously called Emu Island)", which officially heralded the area's change of name. Up to this date the area had obviously been thought of as an island.

The reason for this can possibly be explained by a contemporary observer, Barron Field, Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Field noted that Emu Plains had been called "Emu Island" because the plains had, at times, been turned into an island by the "washing of the mountains when the Nepean ......flooded". Another more recent explanation (offered by local historian and resident Arthur W. Street) claims that the name Emu Island originated because the Nepean River was divided near Emu Ford, thus forming and island. The island, Mr. Street claims, has slowly disappeared through constant excavation caused by the need for blue metal in modern construction. A further resolution of the confusion is detailed in "Emu Plains" by Joan Steege held by the Penrith City Library.

Governor Macquarie established a government farm at Emu Plains in 1819. Here convicts cleared the land and grew wheat, tobacco and other crops for many years. Land was not available for private settlement until the early 1830's, when a town named Emu was surveyed.

Emu Ford

This was the area on the eastern bank (i.e. Penrith side) of the Nepean River, near which the early settlers and explorers crossed the Nepean to get to Emu Plains before the bridge was built. These early crossings were first made by ford and weir, then punt, which ferried chaises, carriages, bullock carts, stock (sheep, cattle, horses) and people. Although it is not certain where the exact point is from which these departures took place, we do know that it was near the point at which William Cox's road across the Blue Mountains began (built 1814-15). The name is no longer in general use.

A watercolour of Emu Ford by John Lewin was painted in 1815, giving us some indication of what the immediate area once looked like.

Emu Ferry

This was the village which grew up close to the Nepean on the western bank (i.e. Emu Plains side). As the name suggests, this was probably where passengers and their belongings disembarked from the ferry/punt. The name Emu Ferry was formalised in April, 1863, when a post office was opened in the premises of John W. Fletcher, and apothecary, who conducted his roadside business on the western bank of the Nepean about 100 metres from the ferry.

When this office was opened, protests were made by the Emu Postmaster, John Smythe, as it was only about 1 kilometre from his existing post office.

The post office was ultimately removed to the Emu Plains railway station and, because they were both under the same roof, the post office was changed from Emu Ferry to Emu Plains in October, 1882.

Emu

This was the name of a small town laid out by the Government in 1832. By 1865, Emu was a postal town of an agricultural and pastoral nature. Here in 1840, Messrs. J. & A. Rayner using power looms, built a woollen and tweed factory. The power looms were the first and only ones used in the colony till 1865. The tweed manufactured there was known by a purple stripe in one selvage.
As settlement on the plains became more widespread and the township of Emu expanded, the area and town eventually became known as it is today - Emu Plains.

Emu Heights

The name was formally assigned in early 19766 and is a neighbourhood within the suburb of Emu Plains. Residential development in the area, the topography, and the already growing usage of the name before 1976, all contributed to the name's official assignation.

Erskine Park

Erskine Park was the name of a 3,000 acre grant made in 1818 to James Erskine (1765-1825). The grant covered an area east of the present Mamre Road to Rope's Creek taking in what is now the suburbs of St. Clair and Erskine Park.

James Erskine was born in 1765 in Ireland and was a career soldier who fought in the West Indies, Ireland and the Peninsular Campaigns. He arrived with his regiment in Sydney on the "Matilda" in August 1817. He was sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor on September 12, 1817.

In recent times (1980-81), there were controversial moves within the community to change the name of the historical suburb Erskine Park to St. Clair - a name having no historical connection with the area (see St. Clair). The matter was finally resolved in the latter half on 1981, when the Geographical Names Board created two separate suburbs, Erskine Park and St. Clair.

Evan

One of the original districts of the County of Cumberland. It originally approximated the area of the current City of Penrith boundaries with the exception that the eastern boundary was almost the entire length of South Creek compared with the present eastern boundary which is South Creek and Rope's Creek. The border to the west was the Nepean River.

The name of the district derived from Evan Nepean (1752-1822) who, as Under-Secretary of state in the Home Department in Britain, dispatched the First Fleet and headed the administration of the Colony in its early years. The name "Evan" still remains in the form of a street name of Penrith.

Jamisontown

Named after Thomas Jamison (1745-1811), who was granted 1,000 acres in 1805 by Governor King. Thomas Jamison arrived with Governor Phillip as Surgeon's Mate, on the First Fleet ship, "Sirius", in 1788, progressing to Surgeon-General of N.S.W. in 1803. Jamison's 1805 grant was situated south of the present Jamison Road and was bounded on the west by the Nepean River. Thomas Jamison returned to England where he died in 1811. He signed over his property in New South Wales to his son Sir John Jamison (1776-1844) who arrived in the Colony in 1814 and later built "Regentville".

Jamisontown is now a neighbourhood within the locality of Penrith.

Kemps Creek

Named after Anthony Fenn Kemp (1773-1868), who had two holdings of land in the area, one called "Mt. Vernon" which was 500 acres and an adjoining parcel of 300 acres. Present day Kemps Creek township is situated on the former Kemp estate.

Kemp was born near London and came to Sydney as an ensign with a detachment of the N.S.W. Corps in 1795. He became involved in the judicial and political wranglings of the early Colony and then in 1816, departed to Tasmania. He played a notable pioneering role in Tasmania both as a merchant and a grazier.

Kingswood

Named after the King family, who held grants of land in this area. It was formerly known as "Cross Roads", as it marked an intersection of another great road from Richmond to the "Cowpastures" near Camden.

The area was thickly wooded and remained almost untouched until the advent of the railway in 1862. A temporary platform was opened and then closed, when the line ran into Penrith in January, 1863.

The inconvenience of this situation for local residents was remedied in March 1887 when a wooden platform and ticket office were constructed on the present site and given the name "Kingswood Siding". The name was eventually shortened and came into general usage. The first extensive subdivision of land in the area took place in the 1880's. Further development in the area was hastened by the Kingswood or St. Stephen's Estate being offered for sale in 1914.

Kingswood Park

A new neighbourhood name in the locality of Penrith, formally assigned in early 1976. The area is bounded by Coreen Avenue, Arakoon Avenue, Illawong Avenue, Andrews Road and Parker Street, and included new residential developments between Cooper Street and Andrews Road. The name Kingswood Park is an extension of the suburban place name, Kingswood, and was created to name expanding residential development in the area.

Lemongrove

It appears that Lemongrove was first settled in 1827, when it was occupied by John and Sarah MacHenry who erected a residence called "Lemon Grove House". There is evidence that suggests that part of the land was used as a lemon orchard during this period, hence the name Lemongrove. It would seem that John MacHenry was promised the land at Lemongrove as early as 1821, but the grant of 100 acres was not formalised until 1834. MacHenry had died in the meantime, however, so the grant went to his wife Sarah, his father-in-law Rev. Henry Fulton and Alexander Fraser, the Executors of his will.

At a later date "Lemon Grove" was purchased by Robert and Margaret Thurston. After their deaths, a petition was presented to the Supreme Court in 1881 requesting that William Hemming (Commissioner of Stamps) be made guardian of the Thurston children and that he hold the property in trust for them. Following extended legal proceedings, it was decided that Lemon Grove House should be demolished and the land subdivided into a total of 249 lots which were offered for sale on 24th January, 1885. Approximately half of the lots were sold on the day, almost all buyers being Penrith residents.

The streets within Lemongrove carry the names of the individuals (i.e. Robert, Thurston, Haynes and Hemmings) who played a role in the development of the area.

Present day Lemongrove became a neighbourhood in early 1976 and is bounded by Lemongrove Road, Robert Street, Hawthorne Road, Glebe Place, Parker Street and The Crescent.

Leonay

Leonay is named after the Emu Plains home and vineyard of Leo Buring (1876-1961), the well known Australian wine grower. The name was a combination of Buring's Christian name "Leo" and his wife's nickname, "Nay".

Hermann Paul Leopold Buring (better known as Leo Buring) was born in 1876 in South Australia to German parents. In 1902 he joined Minchinbury Cellars near Mt. Druitt. Sometime after this date Buring and his wife built a house on this land in 1916. In 1931 Buring went into business for himself, and with Reginald Mowat of Great Western he formed Leo Buring & Co. Buring's first wine was made from grapes grown at his Emu Plains property in the early 1930's. He later moved the major part of his wine operations to the Barossa Valley in South Australia in 1945.

After Buring's death at Leonay in 1961, his wife sold the former vineyard to developers but continued to live in their house until her death. The house then passed to the Emu Plains Sporting & Recreation Club.

Leonay is a neighbourhood within the suburb of Emu Plains. Leonay Golf Course is established on what was the original Leonay vineyard.

Llandilo

This area was named after the Welsh town of Llandeilo Fawr in Wales, a town associated with St. Teilo, and important 6th-century Welsh saint, monk, and bishop, whose work and cult were centred on Llandeilo Fawr. "Llan" means church or village.

Although there is some evidence to suggest that the name Llandilo was in limited use as early as the 1860's, it would seem that the area was better known as "Terry Brook" after Samuel Terry (1776?-1838), the ex-convict who became a wealthy merchant and landowner. Terry had been granted 950 acres in the area on 13th January, 1818. By 1888, however, the name Llandilo was applied to subdivisions in the area. In a report to the Education Department of that year it was described by an Inspector in the following terms: "Llandilo is the name given to an estate recently cut up into orchard blocks, and lying about 4 miles north of St. Marys. The whole estate is as yet practically unoccupied, the primeval bush still holds the ground...."

Today Llandilo is still very much a semi-rural area and has the same post code as St. Marys.

Londonderry

This area was named after "Londonderry", a property of 30 acres granted to a Thomas Kendall. It is not certain if this was the same Thomas Kendall who worked as a convict labourer on the building of the same road over the Blue Mountains in 1814. It is certain, however, that the Kendall family were early settlers in the Castlereagh area, probably squatting in the area in the early 1800's.

Luddenham

In November 1813, Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted John Blaxland (1769-1845), 6,710 acres of land between the Nepean River and South Creek, straddling what is now the township of Luddenham. John Blaxland was the elder brother of Gregory Blaxland of Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth Fame. The grant was named "Luddenham" after the Blaxland family estate in Kent, England.

Mt. Pleasant

The name originally stems from a now-demolished homestead called "Mt. pleasant", built by Samuel Terry in the 1820's or 1830's. The property was based on two grants given to his wife Rosette Marsh, by Lieut.-Governor Paterson in 1809. Governor Macquarie confirmed these two grants (which totalled 210 acres) in 1810.

Samuel Terry (1776?-1835) arrived in New South Wales in June 1801 as a transported felon. After gaining his freedom in 1807, he soon amassed a fortune in the Colony. He was principally a merchant and a landowner and was dubbed the "Botany Bay Rothschild". When he died in 1838, his personal estate was 5000,000 pounds, with an income of over 20,000 pounds a year from Sydney rentals and landed property that defied assessment.

After the house's demolition in the mid 1950's, the hill on which it stood continued to be called Mt. Pleasant. Present day Mt. Pleasant is a neighbourhood within the locality of Cranebrook and was created in 1976 to name proposed residential development in the area.

Mulgoa

This region, south of Penrith, draws its name from a euphonious Aboriginal meaning black swan. The Mulgoa Valley was important to the Aborigines: it marked the boundary between two major linguistic groups (the Dharug and the Gundungurra); it was the route along which different tribes travelled when attending ceremonies, and it was close to the Nepean River which provided a permanent water supply and food reserves which could be relied upon during periods of drought.
After the advent of white settlement, this area was home to one of the most prominent agricultural families in the Colony - the Cox family. Edward Cox, the seventh son of William Cox (the famous builder of the road over the Blue Mountains), was the first person to be granted land in the area by Colonel Paterson. Edward was then only four years old. Governor Macquarie confirmed the 300 acre grant in January 1810. South of Penrith, the whole region lies within what has been called the Mulgoa Valley. Here also can be found Mulgoa Road and Mulgoa Creek.

Nepean River

In June 1789, Watkin Tench was the leader of an explorative group when he came to a river that he described as "nearly as broad as the Thames at Putney." Captain Phillip, on hearing of the river, named it the Nepean River after Evan Nepean (1752-1822) who, as Under-Secretary of State in the Home Department in Britain, oversaw the dispatch of the First Fleet and the administration of the Colony in the early years.

From its headwaters near Menangle, the Nepean River flows some 160 kilometres to the junction with the Grose River near Agnes Banks, north of Penrith. Thereafter the watercourse becomes the Hawkesbury River.

From the early days of European settlement ex-convicts, soldiers and free settlers farmed small rural lots on the alluvial flats under grants from a succession of Governors. They cultivated grain crops and raised cattle with initial success.

Periodic floods devastated the Nepean-Hawkesbury system during this period and were a major danger to human and stock life until the Warragamba Dam was completed in 1960. This allowed some control over the release of water and, combined with flood damage amelioration work, floods still occur but with less devastation.

Orchard Hills

This area was formerly known as "Frogmore", the name of a grant given to Mary Putland (later O'Connell), daughter of Governor Bligh. This locality also included the York Estate which was owned by the York family. The York Estate was subdivided in the late 1880's, the land being sold and advertised as "ideal vineyard and orchard lots".

On the 17th October, 1910, a public meeting of residents was called at the York Estate Public School to "consider the advisability or otherwise of changing the name of the locality". It would seem that there existed another "Frogmore" in New South Wales and this often caused confusion. Several names were submitted for consideration, a vote was taken and "Orchard Hills" was decided upon by residents. Thus the name Orchard Hills replaced the former place name of Frogmore. The boundaries of the proposed district were defined as follows: from Mystery Lane on the north to Wentworth Road on the south and from Mamre Road on the east to Bringelly Road on the west.
Orchards were an early feature of the locality, especially after the subdivision of the York Estate in the late 1880's. Many orchards still exist today and can easily be seen from the F4 Western Freeway as one travels between Penrith and St. Marys.

Oxley Park

Named after John Oxley (1785?-1828) the explorer, who, in 1823 was granted 600 acres in the St. Marys area, the present site of Oxley Park.

John Oxley was born in Yorkshire, England and arrived in the Colony in 1802. He was appointed Surveyor-General of Lands in 1812 and subsequently led explorations into the interior of New South Wales. He explored the Macquarie River, discovered the Lachlan River, the rich Liverpool Plains and founded the coastal town of Port Macquarie. Oxley owned other properties near Minto, Appin and Bowral but mainly resided at "Kirkham" near Camden, where he died in 1828.
Present day Oxley Park is a neighbourhood within the suburb of St. Marys.

Penrith

Named after Penrith in the County of Cumberland (now Cumbria), England. It is not known who first introduced the name to the area.

The earliest reference to Penrith can be found in the 1819 journal of three Frenchmen - MM. Jean Rene Constant Quoy, Charles Gaudichaud and Alphonse Peilion. In their journal entitled "Excursion to the Town of Bathurst, 1819" they refer to the "military depot" at Penrith. To date, this is the earliest reference found using the name of Penrith. The name may have been in use as early as 1817, however, as records show that a Court-House was operating at Penrith from April, 1817. Whether the name was in use at this earlier date is as yet unknown.

Unlike nearby Castlereagh, Penrith was never a planned town but instead grew up around the early Court House and along the Great Western Highway. In attempting to explain why Penrith was named, the "Australian Encyclopedia" (Vol. VII 1965 edition, P. 52) relates that the English Penrith was also built on one long street, and that "circumstances may have suggested the adopting of the name for the New South Wales town, where the pattern of development, on either side of the Great Wester Road, was similar".

Penrith's position on the Great Western Highway (and after the early 1860's the Great Western Railway) ensured its steady growth, while nearby Castlereagh's importance rapidly diminished (see Castlereagh). Penrith therefore, not Castlereagh, became the focal point of the district of Evan (see Evan).

The Town of Penrith was proclaimed a Municipality of 12th May, 1871. The township of St. Marys was proclaimed a Municipality on 4th March, 1890. These two municipalities together with the municipality of Castlereagh and part of the Shire of Nepean (which included the former Municipality of Mulgoa) were amalgamated and were known as the Municipality of Penrith from 1st January 1949. The Municipality of Penrith was proclaimed a City on 14th November, 1959.

In 1963 the Emu Plains area was transferred from Blue Mountains City Council to Penrith City Council.

Regentville

This area of Penrith lies south of the Western Freeway on the Mulgoa Road. Its name is taken from the mansion erected by Sir John Jamison (1776-1844) named "Regentville", in honour of the Prince Regent (later George IV).

"Regentville" was completed in 1824 and was the focal point for the prosperous estate. A vineyard was established in 1831, a tweed mill erected in the period 1835-40, a garden was developed that covered almost 2 hectares and a horse stud was run. In May 1869, a fire of unknown origin, gutted "Regentville" leaving only the bare walls standing.

Sir John Jamison arrived in the Colony in 1814, after the death of his father, Thomas Jamison. He was the inauguarl president of the Agricultural Society of New South Wales, president and founder of the Sydney Turf Club and member of many other major public societies.

Sir John was appointed to the legislative Council in 1837 and remained a member until 1843 when he retired, a year prior to his death. He was a genial man and was celebrated as "the hospitable knight of Regentville".

Ropes Creek

This watercourse, which forms the eastern boundary of the City of Penrith, was named after Anthony Rope who was a convict who arrived with the First Fleet in 1788. He married a female convict, Elizabeth Pulley in May 1788.

Rope learned bricklaying whilst working at Brickfields near Sydney and later moved to the Nepean District. In 1806, the Ropes were renting 48 acres on the Nepean and by 1820 had been granted 20 acres in the district. Anthony Rope died at Castlereagh in 1843. James "Toby" Ryan (1818-1899) was the grandson of Anthony Rope.

St. Clair

This area was formerly unofficially known as South St. Marys and is located south of the F4 Western Freeway. The area is bounded by Mamre and Erskine Park Roads.

"St. Clair" was originally the name of a residential development project created by Latex Finance Company, a subsidiary of the Cambridge Finance Company which went into bankruptcy in 1967.
The Land Commission of N.S.W. (also known as the State Government Body Landcom), acquired this land in 1977 and began to develop and market the suburb. St. Clair was originally designed to cater for some 2,000 homesites but further acquisition by Landcom has meant a much larger projected residential area. St. Clair today, is a self-contained community with shopping, church and school facilities and a branch of the City Library Service.

Considerable debate preceded the official naming of St. Clair in the latter half of 1981 (see Erskine Park), as the name has no historical connection with the area. Today it is a separate suburb from nearby Erskine Park.

St. Marys

Named after the parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, built between 1837-40 and consecrated in 1840.

The area was first called South Creek, because European settlement was originally centred along the banks of the creek. The land grants became working holdings because of the permanent water supply.

The name St. Marys was first used when the St. Marys Post Office was opened on the 1st October, 1840. When part of the original O'Connell Estate was subdivided in 1842 it was made possible the closer settlement of the area. This paved the way for the formation of a recognisable township.
St. Marys developed because of the rich alluvial soil on the banks of the South Creek, the permanence of the water supply and its location on the Great Western Road which meant that it became a convenient staging place for the passing road traffic. In the latter part of the 19th century, various industries emerged. These were blacksmiths and wheelwrights, tanning, brickmaking, sawmilling and wagon makers. The stores and innkeepers prospered serving an expanding agricultural community producing beef, wool, grain and vegetables.

In the early years of World War II, St. Marys was an important centre for large-scale manufacture of explosives. This site would later be developed into an industrial centre, which is still in existence today.

On 1st January, 1949, the towns of Penrith and St. Marys, the Municipality of Castlereagh and part of the Shire of Nepean were amalgamated and known as the Municipality of Penrith.

Wallacia

Wallacia is located at the south-west corner of the boundary of the City of Penrith. Robert Wallace was an early resident of the area and because of the isolation of the locality, his residence became an unofficial postal depot in November 1885.

The region was originally called Riverview but became known locally as "Wallace" as the postal facility became more permanent. The facility was normally classified as a post office in January, 1981 but was re-named Boondah in November, 1905, because there already existed another post office called "Wallace". Local residents, however, were reluctant to lose the original connection with the area and so persuaded the name to be confirmed as Wallacia on June 1st, 1906. Today, Wallacia is a small township dominated by the Wallacia Hotel and the Wallacia Golf Course.

Werrington

In 1806, Governor King granted 790 acres to his daughter, Mary, who married Robert Lethbridge. On this grant, which approximates present day Werrington, they built "Werrington House" which was completed in 1832.

The building was a two-storey Georgian style home of sandstone and timber of 34 squares in size. From 1860-1871, Sir Henry Parkes leased "Werrington House" and resided there. He was noted as a "non-payer" of his rent and during this period his various bankruptcies totalled almost 150,000 pounds. When the railway came through the area, Werrington railway station was known for a time as 'Parkes Platform'.

"Werrington House" remains today, largely in the original condition. In June 1954, it was acquired by the Child Welfare Department (now the Youth and Community Services Department) as a home for boys who were State wards.

The official area of Werrington is bounded by the Commonwealth property to the north, Ropes Creek to the east and O'Connell Street to the west and south.

Werrington County

This is a portion of the official area of Werrington to be found generally north of Werrington Creek extending to the Commonwealth property. It was developed from the late 1970's as a residential estate.

Werrington Downs

This is the north-east portion of the official area of Cambridge Park and is separated from Werrington County by a north-south line drawn through the intersection of Dunheved Road and Francis Street. It acquired its name in 1976 and is a residential development within the City of Penrith.

Yarramundi

Yarramundi is situated on the western side of the Hawkesbury River opposite Agnes Banks and so, is just outside the City of Penrith boundary. The name is derived from an aboriginal healer (Yal-Lah-Mien-Di), who "operated" on one of Governor Phillip's aboriginal guides who was suffering pain. Governor Phillip was exploring the Nepean/Hawkesbury River near the present Yarramundi, after receiving the report of Captain Watkin Tench who had discovered the Nepean, near Penrith, in June 1789.

A newspaper report in 1879 described Yarramundi as a village with about 200 people scattered around the nearby district.

Place Names

An examination of the above list points to several distinguishing features, common to many place names, not only in the local Penrith area, but throughout Australia. These include:

a. Many of the above place names are of people, towns and geographical features to be found in the United kingdom. This is to be expected, especially when one considers that most of the new settlers had recently originated from there. Memories of "home" would have been particularly strong amongst these new inhabitants; thus, any countryside with geographical features that even vaguely reminded them of their former homeland were often applied to their new surroundings, sometimes with no similarity whatever (e.g. Dunheved, Berkshire Park, Londonderry). Likewise, the names of close relatives or friends were often chosen to name grants, farms etc. (e.g. Agnes Banks). On a more official level, the names of important personalities or officials back in England were often applied to the more important geographical features in the new colony, such as rivers, towns or mountains (e.g. District of Evan, Nepean River, Castlereagh). This was often done for political reasons, since one could expect a favourable reaction from the person who had been honoured in this fashion, or out of friendship or genuine appreciation for any favours received in the past.

b. Some are named after the original inhabitants of the land holding (e.g. Erskine Park, Badgery's Creek), while others refer to the physical features or animals originally found in the area (e.g. Emu Plains, Cranebrook).

c. Some names are of Aboriginal origin. More often than not these names have been corrupted (i.e. they have lost their original meaning, appropriateness, or pronunciation). From the earliest days of colonisation, including Governor Phillip's era, original Aboriginal place names were sometimes applied to local features and settlements (e.g. Mulgoa).

d. Furthermore, a few of the place names were changed - some just a few years after they were first named (e.g. Governor Phillip changed Rose Hill to Parramatta, the Aboriginal name for the area). This was quite a common occurrence in the early days of colonisation, partly due to the lack of Government regulation and standardisation of place names. Another such example - though not in the immediate local area, but clearly related to Penrith's history is the name "Blue Mountains". It was Governor Phillip who named the northern part of the mountains the Carmarthen Hills and the southern section Landsdowne Hills - roughly, those portions of the Blue Mountains which lie to the north and south of the valley of the river Grose. Both were named after peers in England. Within a few years, however, the term Blue Mountains was in common use owing primarily to the colour the mountains assume when viewed from a distance.

e. Finally, there are examples of relatively new place names. Some, as have been seen, have been bestowed only in the last decade. These place names have either derived from names which have been closely associated with the Penrith district for many years (e.g. Lemongrove, Dunheved), or from a source which has little or no historical association (e.g. from housing estate names - St. Clair). These new place names have come about as a result of recent residential growth within the region.

State regulation of place names in New South Wales

Until 1966 the naming of towns and geographical features was not controlled by legislation either on a State or National basis. As we have seen, name changes in the early days of colonisation were often made with little justification, the more important place names depending on the whim of an existing Governor, who could and often did change place names. As the years went by and towns and settlements grew larger, place names became more established and were gradually incorporated into the everyday life of the district. It thus became harder to change what were becoming "established" place names in the minds of the people in different areas. Local residents were beginning to identify themselves as being from Castlereagh, or Penrith, or wherever.

On the other hand, as new areas opened up, names had to be found for them. In the early 1820's new settler's, in their application for land to the south of the Nepean River and west of the Blue Mountains, were required to describe the location of the area they sought, and the use of the Aboriginal name for the locality was a convenient solution to this problem. Furthermore, during Sir Thomas Mitchell's long occupancy of the office of Surveyor-General between 1828-1855 (a period of rapid settlement), the use of Aboriginal names was actively encouraged and officially preferred by his department over names over names of English and Scottish origin. Even though the Surveyor-General's Department could exert considerable influence over the creation of place names, it still had no statutory authority. In August 1966, however, all this changed.

The Geographical Names Act of 1966 established the Geographical Names Board of N.S.W. This board was vested with the statutory authority in respect of the assignment of names to places, altering any place names and discontinuing the use of any place name in the State. The board had the statutory authority to make the final decision about naming:

a) reserves for public recreation;
b) public parks;
c) residential subdivisions.

The board does not have control over road and street names. They are still created and named at the local level, usually by local council authorities, who for the most are mindful of retaining their area's local history and character. Other considerations in naming streets and roads include ease of pronunciation and spelling.

While this is the procedure for street and road names, other previously-mentioned features, such as reserves for public recreation, public parks and residential subdivisions, must undergo a more regulated review on a State level. Their naming usually occurs in the following way:

A: Creation of names at local level

Local Government authorities compile a list of possible names and boundaries for new areas - within the guidelines set by the Geographical Names Board (G.N.B.). They do this by having discussions with the Housing Commission (who are probably building houses in the new area); local historical societies (who may offer names which retain the local history and character of the area); or any other interested parties and/or any other statutory bodies (e.g. Education Department, Lands Commission, etc.), who have plans for development in the area.

B: Initial approval by the Geographical Names Board

The list of proposed names and boundaries is sent to, and considered by, the Geographical Names Board. Here the Board checks the names, examines the proposed boundaries and makes sure every item follows the guidelines set down by the Act.

C: Display names for public approval

After the Board's approval, the proposed names are published in the Government Gazette and also advertised in the local newspapers of the area. A period of one month is allowed for the lodgment of any objections from the public. Objections must be well justified for the Board to change its mind. If there are a number of different names put forward, or any controversy is stirred up, the Board has the right to make the final decision under the authority of the Act. After this period expires and all objections are settled, names are formally assigned to the given areas.

D: Public reserves, parks, residential subdivisions named

This was how recently-named neighbourhoods like Leonay, Dunheved, Emu Heights, Lemongrove and Kingswood Park came into being in the last few years. As stated earlier, Penrith City is a constantly expanding area. New place names have therefore to be found, and the above steps give some indication as to how these come about.

Conclusion

There are many place names scattered throughout Australia, the origin and meaning of which we know very little about. Fortunately, here in the Penrith area, where settlement began in the earliest days of colonisation, their history is fairly well documented. The early Governors of N.S.W., for instance, almost always recorded any geographical feature or township they named in their journals, letters or despatches. Likewise, the names and size of the first land grants were recorded by early Government officials, so these records also make our job easier when tracing the origin of place names within the area.

Occasionally you might find people who have their own interpretation as to how an area received its name. The origin and naming of both Penrith and Emu Plains, for example, as we have seen in the list of Place Names, is still open to various interpretations. This is one of the reasons why an organisation like the Geographical Names Board came into existence. The Board, in the near future, is endeavouring to record the form, spelling, meaning, pronunciation, origin and history of geographical names all over New South Wales. This proposed research and standardisation will benefit, not only our won, but future generations who want to know the history and meanings of place names.

Please e-mail your comments to Lorraine Stacker, including the web address of this page.
Penrith City Council Library Service
Copyright © Penrith City Council. All rights reserved.
Revised: 3 June 2004

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